June 1, part 2 -- bison, and big views in southern Utah

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Here is a link to the interactive expedition map.



As we drove north, away from the rim of the Grand Canyon, the road went through a lot of big meadows.  We knew it was possible to see bison, so we watched for them.

It was my sharp-eyed better half who saw this little bunch coming toward the road.

I believe this group includes one last-year calf, and, clearly, a this-year calf.

I don't know what a bison looks like, in good condition.  These adults look bony to me.....  This road had only opened the week before we visited (the road is closed in winter), and there is a lot of snow up there in winter.  I can imagine that winter is hard even for critters who evolved to live in the harsh winters of these plateaus............

I think this boniest one is the mother of the one I think is a last-year calf.  She was still letting that calf nurse, which would explain her poorer condition.................  I believe that's her calf beside her, with its face partially hidden by another individual's tail.  See how small the horn is, compared to the mom?

According to Wikipedia, "Cows nurse their calves for at least 7 or 8 months, but most calves seem to be weaned before the end of their first year. At three years of age, bison cows are mature enough to produce a calf. Bison have a life expectancy around 15 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity."

I wonder if we are looking at two adults, two two-year calves, one one-year calf, and a baby.  I saw no evidence that any of these individuals were male.

Doing what bison do -- getting between the young 'uns and the potential threat.  (You can imagine the long line of cars stopped beside the road, watching the bison.  And of course there were idiots getting out of their cars............)  The one in the middle has smaller horns than the two on the sides.  I 'm guessing maybe that's a "teenager" -- two-year calf?

At left you can see that big calf working on nursing.  It's parallel to its mother, leaning on her, getting ready to kneel on the ground to get down far enough to get its head under her........  And its mother just let it do so.  More than once in the few minutes we watched.

I know that there's a struggle between mothers and offspring for resources.  Offspring want everything they can get.  Mothers want healthy offspring, but they need to reserve enough resources for themselves that they are healthy enough to procreate again........



The two youngsters.  You can see that the bigger of the two has much smaller horns than the adult behind the baby.

We are so glad we had a chance to see them!  Definitely one of our best wildlife sightings on this expedition.



Tearing ourselves away from the bison, so other people had a place to park and watch.

Driving on.

We kept our eyes peeled as we drove through the meadows, looking for more bison, but we didn't see any more.

The way out of public lands is not all meadows.....

But there are a lot of meadows.  Meadows with very short vegetation.  Grazed down?  Or maybe just not grown up, after winter?

We saw more than one pond-ish place that was fenced.  I wonder if this is to keep animals (bison?) away from no-good water.  I googled for bad water in Kaibab (I believe this is the Kaibab National Forest), but didn't find anything.  Puzzling.

Almost all of these pics were taken through the windows of a moving car.  Not as sharp as one would wish, but much better than nothing............

Looks like it's raining out there.....

I showed you this image when we were on our way to the Grand Canyon on May 29.  On the way out, I didn't take a mise-en-scene shot.......

I believe this is Le Fevre Overlook and Rest Area.

On June 1, we ate lunch at the picnic table in the building you see above.



Here's a little piece of the nearly-180-degree view from up there.  Looking north.  Spectacular...............

The picnic table in the shelter is a slab of rock.  This is our daughter's bag and well-traveled water bottle.  That water bottle has been to many countries and more states.  It has been to more national parks than I have visited.....

Our trusty cooler, and a glimpse of our lunch-time view.

Here's the vista from the overlook.................

Here is a link to the next post in the Grand Canyon series.

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